I never saw Sachin Tendulkar lose his temper: ‘Disgruntled’ Tendulkar’s dressing room reaction to Rahul Dravid’s 194th declaration revealed

One of the most controversial moments in Indian cricket in the 21st century came in Multan when India toured Pakistan in 2004. While the match is famous in the history of the sport as it was the first time India won a Test match on Pakistani soil, the match was marred by a huge controversy in the Indian dressing room.

For those not in the know, common pattern Surav Ganguly He was not in the starting XI for the match due to an injury sustained in the ODI series a few days ago. This meant Rahul Dravid He was leading the team in the first match of the series and made a call that continues to divide opinions among the Indian cricket fraternity.

In the first innings, when India were 675/5 in the last session of play on the second day, Dravid decided to declare the innings. While it was an expected decision to ensure that they could expose the home team’s batting unit for a few overs before stumps, the decision sparked controversy as Sachin was batting at 194 and just six runs away from a double century.

Did Sachin Tendulkar Fly off the handle?

Tendulkar’s disappointment at the decision is well documented as he made his anger public at the post-match press conference. Two decades later, an insider’s version of what happened within the Indian dressing room has emerged. Former India opener Aakash Chopra, who was in the playing XI, revealed that it was the first time he had seen Sachin unhappy.

“I was in the dressing room, but I wasn’t part of that conversation. To be honest, I didn’t even try to get into it because I was too young. Yes, Paaji was not happy that day. I think I saw him unhappy for the first time. I never saw him lose his temper, and he didn’t exactly lose his temper that day, but he was visibly unhappy. Something was not right,” Chopra said in an interaction on the network’s show. 2 workers Youtube Channel.

Was Sourav Ganguly involved?

Another thing that remains under debate till date is whose decision it was as while Dravid was the stand-in captain, regular captain Sourav Ganguly was in the dressing room despite suffering from an injury. Chopra claimed that Ganguly was part of the think tank and asserted that it was not just the captain’s decision that hinted at the head coach’s involvement. Juan Wright also.

“Rahul did call up, but Dada (Ganguly) was also in the dressing room that day. He wasn’t playing that match, but he was in the dressing room and I’m sure he was part of the think tank. It wasn’t just the captain’s decision. After the match, Rahul said that he wouldn’t have turned up if he knew the match would be over in four days.

“With Rahul, you may or may not agree at the moment of truth, but you don’t doubt his decision. You know that even if he was in a similar position, he would have made the same decision,” Chopra added.

India’s record performance

India won the game by an innings and 152 runs. The win was not only India’s first ever Test win in Pakistan but also paved the way for their first and only series win against Pakistan away from home till date. In the innings where the Tendulkar declaration saga happened, Virender Sehwag created history and became the first Indian player to score a triple century in the longest format of the game.

Despite his obvious disappointment at failing to reach a double century, Tendulkar produced arguably the most memorable moment of the match when he dismissed Moin Khanwith with a stunning delivery on the last ball of play on Day 3.